ting Seattle (4-0) on Oct. 13. They host San Francisco ( | Forum

Just past the midway portion of the 2013-2014 NHL schedule, Scott Cullen has his picks for first half award winners. Rashad Johnson Titans Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. While there is much room for movement over the second half of the year, the Calder Trophy race might be the most volatile because no one has run away from the pack and when there are so many candidates close together, it gets easy to see big changes. Anyway, here are my picks for awards through first first half of this season: HART TROPHY Winner: Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Runners-up: Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim; Patrick Kane, Chicago Comment: After what counted as a slump for him knocked Crosby to runner-up status through the first quarter, hes pulled away from the pack, leading the scoring race by nine points over Kane and 15 points ahead of Getzlaf who fit second and third, respectively. Scoring isnt everything, but all three have been on a roll through the first half of the season. Getzlafs shooting percentage (17.9%) and on-ice shooting percentage (12.0%) are a tad higher than his norm, but hes also shooting more than he has in the past and the results are there -- his 20 goals already counts as his most since 2008-2009 and has him in easy range of surpassing his career-best of 25 goals. Kane has a strong supporting cast, of course, but hes on pace for a career-high in points and shots per game. Hes slumped in his last four games, but Kane has done enough to deserve consideration. If not Kane, Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin is worthy of consideration. His 31 goals is six more than anyone else, and while Ovechkin has an unsightly minus-17, his possession stats are solid and basically has bad puck luck when it comes to percentages. NORRIS TROPHY Winner: Duncan Keith, Chicago Runners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; P.K. Subban, Montreal Comment: Keith is having a season very similar to his 2009-2010 season, when he won the Norris Trophy, putting up dominant possession stats, but also contributing more offensively -- his 42 points in 45 games (0.93 per game) represents the best per-game scoring rate of his career. Karlsson continues to be a game-changer offensively, and his possession numbers are more favourable than his minus-12 rating would suggest, but the percentages have not been playing in his favour through the first half of the season. Subban had a fantastic start to the year, but his play dipped some in December. Not enough to knock him from contention, but enough that hes closer to other contenders, like Nashvilles Shea Weber and St. Louis Alex Pietrangelo, than he is to Keith at this point. VEZINA TROPHY Winner: Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Runners-up: Josh Harding, Minnesota; Tuukka Rask, Boston Comment: The 32 games that Bishop has played this season already counts as a career-high, so who knows where this is going (especially considering his injury on the weekend), but he leads in even-strength save percentage (.945) and has been an anchor for a team that has been playing without their top offensive threat for more than a quarter of the season. Harding was the early front-runner, but has only played two games in the past three weeks as he took time to adjust MS medication. That hes usurped Niklas Backstrom in net for the Wild is a story in itself, but Hardings numbers still have him right there with Bishop through the first half of the year. Rask is the more predictable option, the one goaltender that would have been considered a contender in the preseason because Rask is always turning in excellent work -- his worst save percentage in the last five seasons was .918 and this years .934 currently ranks as a career-high. There is plenty of time for other goaltenders to make their move. Montreals Carey Price, Torontos Jonathan Bernier and Colorados Semyon Varlamov are among those closest to the contenders. CALDER TROPHY Winner: Torey Krug, D, Boston Runners-up: Tomas Hertl, LW, San Jose; Seth Jones, D, Nashville Comment: With 23 points in 42 games, defenceman Krug is only three points behind Colorados Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the rookie scoring race. More than half of Krugs points have come on the power play, where hes running the point on the Bruins number one unit, but without any breakout forwards, Krug is the pick at the midpoint of the season. Hertl was the leading candidate, even if he slowed down from his tremendous start, but hes already missed more than two weeks since taking a knee-on-knee hit from the Kings Dustin Brown and hes still going to be on the shelf for the forseeable future. Jones had a strong case early in the year, then his game fell off and his ice time was reduced dramatically. Hes working his way back up lately, enough to get a runner-up nod, though not far ahead of the competition. MacKinnon is starting to pick up offensively, and injuries in Colorado are opening up more opportunities. Others of note include Rangers LW Chris Kreider, Jets D Jacob Trouba, Kings RW Tyler Toffoli, Panthers C Aleksander Barkov and Stars RW Valeri Nichushkin, who could be in the best position of all if he can stick on the wing with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the Stars number one line. SELKE AWARD Winner: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Runners-up: Patrice Bergeron, Boston; David Backes, St. Louis Comment: Its a familiar group, with Toews and Bergeron the last two winners. They simply excel as two-way players, typically dominating possession even when they face elite competition. Backes isnt far behind, either. Hes a beast to play against, handles tough assignments like Bergeron and Backes is probably getting a little more notice this season because hes been running alongside Alexander Steen for most of the year. Steen would be a candidate too, but thats because hes always a sound two-way player, not because of his goal-scoring explosion, and Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has such a strong two-way game that he has a chance to work his way into consideration, which isnt easy for a winger. JACK ADAMS AWARD Winner: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Todd McLellan, San Jose Comment: Its always difficult to narrow down the best coaching jobs, but the Ducks have been so good that some credit should go to Boudreau, who is not only getting the most out of his superstars, but also the supporting cast. The St. Louis Blues play such a grind-it-out style of game that its a testament to the coaching of Ken Hitchcock that they stick with it, and they have one of the leagues best records despite what has been merely decent goaltending. Same goes for San Jose and coach Todd McLellan, who is succeeding without great numbers from his tenders and has done some line juggling to incorporate younger options. A couple of other viable candidates -- Colorados Patrick Roy and Tampa Bays Jon Cooper -- have had such strong goaltending that I have a hard time separating that from the team success. Theyre worthy, but would they be worthy if their goalies werent great? Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Kamerion Wimbley Titans Jersey . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Andy Levitre Titans Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-11-Tj-Graham-Womens-Jersey/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday.NASHVILLE -- While Jake Locker will miss a "few weeks" with a sprained hip, coach Mike Munchak says the Titans are encouraged by how the quarterback already is moving around. Exactly how many games Locker misses depends on how quickly he recovers. "If anyones going to get back quick, its him," Munchak said Tuesday night during his weekly radio show on 104.5 The Zone WGFX-FM. "We know hes going to miss a few games and now its just going to be a matter of how well he rehabs and how quickly it comes around to see exactly when. We wont know for a couple weeks how close he could be to playing." The Titans released a statement earlier Tuesday, saying a second MRI exam was "reassuring" and confirmed Locker did not suffer major damage to his hip joint. Locker sprained his right hip and also his right knee. Munchak had dismissed reports Monday that Locker would miss at least a month and possibly up to eight weeks, saying everyone was just "guessing." He said then they needed the second MRI exam because Locker had swelling in his hip. Munchak said Tuesday night they wanted to be cautious. "Then today they said that this looks a lot better than we thought," Munchak said. "Hes still got a lot of work ahead of him no doubt, but its good news to know that hes got just a spraain of the hip area and also the knee. Custom Titans Jersey. " Munchak said Locker started his rehabilitation Tuesday and also took part in the quarterbacks weekly session. Ryan Fitzpatrick will start Sunday for the Titans (3-1) against Kansas City (4-0), and Tennessee has not made any roster move yet to add another quarterback to the roster. Rusty Smith already is on the practice squad, but the Titans would have to release someone else to promote him to the roster in a move that would not have to be made until Saturday. The timing could not be worse for the Titans. Locker missed five games last season with an injured left shoulder for a team that lost four of its first five games. The Titans now are off to a strong start, and Locker certainly is a reason why. Locker currently is the third-ranked quarterback in the AFC by passer rating behind Denvers Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers of San Diego. Locker currently has a 99 passer rating and is completing a career-high 62.2 per cent of his passes with six touchdowns and no interceptions. The Titans wrap up a three-game home stand against the Chiefs on Sunday before visiting Seattle (4-0) on Oct. 13. They host San Francisco (2-2) before their bye. If Locker is out for only a month, he could be on target to return Nov. 3 when Tennessee visits St. Louis. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '